Meat-hook.



E. MILLER.

MEAT HOOK.

APPLIUATION FILED Dno.1,19o7.

Patented Nov. 17, 1908.

l m F A E 1 F INVENTUR p/7M HI 5 ATTU'RNEY WITNESSESI UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

EDWARD MILLER', OF' HOMESTEAD, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH TO WILLIAM SANDS AND ONE-FOURTH TO' C. W. RIUSE, OF HQMIESTEAD, PENNSYLVANIA.

MEET-HUUR.

Specification of Lettere Patent.

Patented Nov. 17, 1908.

To all whom 'it may. concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD MILLER, a citizen of the United States, and residing in the borough of Homestead, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented or discovered new and useful Improvements in Meat-Hooks, of which' the following is a. specification.

My invention consists of new and useful improvements in hooks or members for the suspension. of hams and similar products from the meat sticks in. smoke houses &c.

It consists in metal wire or rod bent into double loop form, the lower loop consisting of two converging arms having their ends adjacent and sharpened to engage the load. I prefer also to bend said ends upwardl and inwardly so thatthe'weight of the loa will more firmly sink the sharpened ends into the same. The central portion of the wire is crossed and bent into a loop at substantially right angles .to the plane of the arms, said last named loop being of the required contour to horizontally engage the vertical projections on the meat stlck. By crossing the wire between the loops I obtain an upper loop which will normally lit over the projection loosely .enough to be readily engaged and disengaged, but when the load is hanging from the arms, the said loop contracts and snugly clasps the projection so that it cannot be released therefrom without lifting up onthe load to permit the loop to expand. I show my hook made either of a single strand of wire or rod, and, also, made of two or more strands in which case the engaging extremities of the arms are multiple, which construction I regard as better tted for the suspension of bacon or large pieces of meat. In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation showing a ham suspended from a meat stick by means of my hook; Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevation of the hook; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the hook, shown in Fig. 2, in place on the meat stick; Fig. 4 is a reduced side elevation of a ham ready for packing for shipment with my hook attached but swung down against the ham so as not to interfere with close storage, and Fig. 5 is a similar viewto Fig. 2 of a modification.

The following is a vdetailed description of the drawings :,-l is a meat stick, preferably of metal and provided with a series of vertical projections, 2-2, which are to be engagedby and to support my hook 3. The

hook consists of a wire or rod of metal.l having sufficient spring, bent into substantially double loo form, the ends of the wire forming depen ing arms, 4:-4, o-f the larger, and when 1n use lower, loop. These arms are preferably arc shape and converge, being preferably provided with upwardly and inwardlybent ends or prongs, 5-5,-whose extremities are preferably spear ends, 6-6, ada ted to enter the meat. At the top of the ower loop, the wire is crossed on itself and lbent into an upper, and preferably smaller, loop 7 which is in a plane substantially at right angles to that of the lower loop. The contour of said loop 7 is such that it normally may be readily slipped down over one of the projections 2 of the meat stick 1. The hook is attached to the ham 8 by slightly spreading the prongs 5-5 and introducing the shank of the ham between the same. The hook is then lifted with theham depending therefrom so that the weight of the ham tends to drive the pron S 5 5 deeper -into the meat, more secure y gripping the same. The upper loop 7 is now placed over the `d esired projection 2, the weight of the ham being relieved from the hook to allow the loop 7 to expand to its normal size which permits it to slip easily down over the projection. The ham is then released allowing its entire weight to be exerted on the hook thus contracting the upper loo 7 because of the crossing of the wire an gripping the projection 2 with the full force of the weight of the load. To release it from the meat stick, the weight of the ham is eased off the hook, allowing the loop 7 to expand to its normal size when it may' readily be lifted from the projection and the ham taken down Without disturbing adjacent hams on the same meat stick. To release the ham from the hook, the weight of the ham is eased slightly and the arms 4 4 forced downwardly and outwardly out of engagement with the meat.

In the modification shown in Fig. 5, the hook is constructed by twisting together two or more strands of wire or rods, 23a-3, the ends of the twisted strands being separated and bent up as at .5a-5% and sharpened, as at (Sa-6a. The multiple engagin points provided in this type of hook a apt it par.

ticularly to the suspension of sides or ieces of bacon. If desired, lighter materia may be used for this type of hook.

When hams after smoking, are stored or a frequent source of distastrous re in pack-L ship d, the hooks need not be removed from the amsA when taken down from the meat sticks'but may be ,swung down against the 'surfaceof the hams, as in Fig. 4, out of the way so as not to im ede the close packing of adjacent hams. en the hams reach the dealer or-consumer, the may again be suspended b means of the ooks until sold or consume v It isa common racticeleither to' thread cord loops throug holes unched in the hams or meat, or to provide angers and slip said hooks and hangers longitudinally over the meat sticks. In such cases, to remove ,a selected ham ever one of the hams suspended between it an the free end of the stick must first be removed, to enable the selected -ham to be taken down, and then replaced as before. This is a tedious operation as it frequently entails the lifting of fifteen or twenty hams twice Vand frequently results in breaking a cord loop. By the use of my hooks, any desired ham may be removed from the stick without disturbing the others adjacent. The cord loops becoming quickly lsaturated with grease, frequently catch re in the smoke house,allowing the ham to fall and starting a conii'agration. This has been ing establishments. This danger is of course obviated by the use of my invention.

My hooks are of cheap construction, perfectly eicient, and being practically indestructible, may be used over and over again.

Their construction renders the` accidentall falling of a ham impossiblewhile rendering its intentional removal an easy operation. l What I desire to claim is l A hook for the purpose described, consisting of metal wire bent into double loop form, thelower loop1 consisting of converging arms, carrying at t eir lower extremities en agingpoints, and the upper loop being ent at substantially right-angles to the lower loop and formed by crossing the arms of saidv lower loop, said upper loop being normally of sulicient size to .slip easily over the Vertical projections of a meat-stick, but binding tlghtly about the same when the load.50 is suspended from the hook. I Signed at Pittsburg, Pa., this 29th day of November, 1907.

\ EDWARD MTLLER. 

